Catholic author of ‘Dear Grace’ films new TV segments

Brownsville, Texas, Jan 13, 2009 / 05:14 am (CNA).- Grace MacKinnon, author of the Dear Grace Catholic advice column, is returning to the public eye with new video segments to be shown on EWTN.

From 1999 to 2004, MacKinnon’s “Dear Grace” advice column ran in numerous diocesan newspapers and church bulletins throughout the United States. Her column was published as far away as Korea and Ireland.

ACI Prensa, CNA’s sister news agency, has translated some of her columns into Spanish.

MacKinnon, who holds a master's degree in theology, wrote the column while working as director of adult education for the Diocese of Brownsville in Texas, the Brownsville Herald reports. She left the diocese in July 2004 to start a nonprofit organization called Dear Grace Ministries.

She has now filmed several segments for Eternal World Television Network (EWTN) following the same format as her column.

"It's going to start sometime in the spring," MacKinnon told the Brownsville Herald. "It's going to be like segments, where I'm going to be sitting down, reading a letter from a viewer, and answering a question, and it's all going to be called ‘Dear Grace'."

The segments will run in short periods between programs.

Last year, MacKinnon did her first EWTN miniseries, called “Suffering Is About Love.” She has also written her life story, called “Moments of Grace.”

MacKinnon, who suffers from muscular dystrophy, is confined to a wheelchair. In her youth she faced obstacles to advancing her education.

"A counselor in grade school told me, ‘Don't ever let anyone tell you what you can't do,'" she told the Brownsville Herald. "And I am telling you, I had a determination that would not quit. I have always been that way, very tenacious, very persistent, especially when I know God wants me to do it."

She explained that her background has helped her connect with readers.

"One of my readers said to me, ‘I like to read what you say because you paid the price.’ I have lived a challenging life, not only because of disability but poverty."

MacKinnon also plans to host a “Lunch with Grace” for Catholics and others who wish to ask questions about God and faith at the Brownsville Public Library.

"At the beginning of the New Year, everyone is asking me what changes they can make to make their lives better, and I think that the most important change is to get closer to God," she told the Brownsville Herald. "You know, people sometimes ask themselves, ‘Why aren't things going well for me? Why am I not getting what I want out of life. Why am I not happy?' And they don't realize what the source of real happiness is, and that's God.”